Derby Avenue was shut in both directions at Academy Hill Road for about two hours Wednesday after white foam emerged from the sewer and covered both sides of the street.
Click the video to see the foam and to watch an interview with Derby Fire Chief William Nicoletti.
Workers from Duke’s Root Control of Syracuse, N.Y. were on Academy Hill Road — a steep hill that connects to Derby Avenue — doing routine maintenance of the sewer lines when motorists noticed foam spreading all over Derby Avenue below.
The workers from Duke were using a chemical to clear out any tree roots that may have been growing in the sewer lines, Nicoletti said.
The chemical apparently flowed too quickly down Academy Hill Road, causing an inordinate amount of foam to form at the bottom of the hill.
Firefighters received the call at 8:59 a.m. and were on the scene by 9:06 a.m.
The foam, about two feet high directly over a manhole cover, looked like shaving cream or laundry detergent.
Derby firefighters, at first unsure of what they were dealing with, closed the road and investigated.
They also called in the city’s water control pollution authority and the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The foam was actually a product called “Razorooter,” an aquatic herbicide.
Officials said the foam did not pose a threat to the public. Workers from Duke’s wore gloves and shoveled the stuff into a pile, which was to be sucked up by a vacuum truck. The DEP supervised.
Derby Fire Department Assistant Chief Thomas Lenart, Jr. said the vacuum truck ended up not being used, as the foam worked its way back into the sewer line on its own.
Derby FD cleared the scene at 10:34 a.m., at which time a state DOT truck was going to lay down sand.
